US615803A - James cadwell - Google Patents

Description

No. 6|5,803. Patented De.- I3, |898 J. CADWELL.

cAR couPLlNG.

(Application led Fab. 8, 1898.) (No Model.)

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"d//f /I L? r/' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES OADVELL, OF MILL RUN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO AUSTIN E. NICHOLSON, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of .Letters Patent No. 615,803, dated December 13,1898.

Application filed February 8, 1898. Serial No. 669,557. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES CADWELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mill Run, in the county of Fayette and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Oar- Ooupling, of which the following is a specilication.

The invention relates to improvements in car-couplings.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of car-couplin gs and to provide a simple, strong, and efficient one capable of coupling automatically and adapted to be readily uncoupled without going between cars.

A further object of the invention is to provide a car-coupling which will also be adapted to couple with the ordinary pin-and-link car-coupling and which will uncouple automatically should a car be overturned, whereby one car will be prevented from dragging another down an embankment.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed ont in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a car-coupling constructed in accordance with this invention and shown applied to a car. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing two draw-heads coupled. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same, the parts being arranged preparatory to automatic coupling. Fig. 4 is a transverse view of one of the draw-heads. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

1 designates a draw-head mounted on a car 2 in the usual manner and provided at one side with a longitudinal opening 3 and at the opposite side of the center with a longitudinal socket 4, both the opening 3 and the socket 4: extending entirely through the drawhead from top to bottom to prevent accumulation of water, dirt, or the like.

Within the longitudinal opening 3 is secured a swinging link 5, which is mounted on a transverse rock-shaft 6, and the said link 5,

which is provided at its outer end with a ball or a head 7, is adapted to engage the socket 4. of a corresponding draw-head. The socket et is contracted at the front of the draw-head to provide a narrow entrance-slot to receive the stem or shank of the link and to form interior shoulders for engaging the spherical head or ball 7. The balls of the links of two draw-heads provide ball-and-socket connec- 6o tions and permit the necessary play of the parts, so that there will be no lateral strain on the draw-heads when rounding a curve.

The draw-head is provided with a longitudinal link-opening 8, which-is intersected by tangnlar eye or opening of the inner end of the link, whereby the latter is rigid with the rock-shaft. The arm 10 is connected with an arm 11 of a transverse shaft 12 by a chain 13, and the shaft 12, which extends transversely of the oar, is provided at opposite sides of the 8o same with handles and is adapted yto enable the car-coupling to be uncoupled and to be set for automatic coupling from the sides of cars without going between them. An operating-chain 14C is connected withv the chain 13 85 and extends upward through an opening in the platform of the car 2; but it may extend to the top of the box-car, so that the coupling may beoperated from that point.

The link, as shown in Fig. 5 of the accom- 9o panying drawings, is arranged slightly beyond a perpendicular position when swung upward and set for automatic coupling, and it is mounted on the shaft G at a point between its ends to provide an arm or portion 15, which depends from the shaft when the parts are arranged as shown in Fig. 5. The arm or portion 15 is arranged adjacent to the front of the drawehead when the parts are set, and it is adapted to be engaged by a push- 10o bar or plunger 16, passing through a perforation of the draw-head and projecting beyoud the same in position to be struck by an approaching draw-head. When two parts come together for coupling, the push-bars are forced inward and the links are thrown downward an d outward into engagement with the sockets of the draw-heads, whereby the cars are coupled.

In order to cushion the fall of the links and prevent them from being cracked or otherwise injured by being thrown forward quickly, each draw-head is provided at its side having its operating-arm 10 with a weighted bell-crank lever 17, adapted to be engaged by an arm 18, mounted on the opposite side of each draw-head and rigidly secured to the rock-shaft. The bell-crank lever 17, which is fulcrumed at its angle, has a lower or downwardly-extending weighted arm, and its other arm, which extends upward and outward, is provided with a laterally-disposed portion 19, arranged to receive the arm 17. The bellcrank lever swings when struck and is thereby adapted to cushion the fall of the links. The upper edge of the arm 18 is beveled near its outer end, and the said arm is adapted in swinging upward for uncoupling to pass the bell-crank lever readily.

The invention has the following advantages: The car-coupling, which is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, is strong and durable and positive and reliable in operation, is capable ofcou pling automatically, and is adapted to be readily uncoupled without going between cars. The slots or openings for the links and the balls of the same extend entirely through the draw-heads, so that there is no liability of the part-s becoming clogged by accumulation of ice or dirt. The links are thrown down quickly when two cars come together for coupling, and they are cushioned to prevent them from being injured by such rapid movement.

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

That I claim is- 1. In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head, a link pivotally mounted on the draw-head and adapted to engage a corresponding draw-head, an arm connected with the link and arranged at one side of the drawhead, and a weighted lever loosely pivoted at the other side of the draw-head and arranged to be engaged by the arm of another drawhead, whereby the link is cushioned, substantially as described.

2. In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head, a link pivotally mounted on the draw-head and adapted to engage a corresponding draw-head, a weighted bell-crank lever pivotally mounted on the draw-head at one side thereof and provided with a laterally-extending portion, and an arm arranged at the opposite side of the draw-head, connected with the link and adapted to engage a lever of a corresponding draw-head, whereby the link is cushioned, substantially as described.

3. In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head, a link, an oscillating arm connected with the link and located out of the plane of the same, and a cushioning device arranged to be engaged by the arm when the link falls, said cushioning device being mounted independently of the arm, whereby the link may be raised without affecting the cushioning device,substantially as described.

4. In a car-coupling, the combination of a dra\v-head,a rock-shaft mounted on the drawhead and provided at one side thereof` with an operating-arm, an arm 18 mounted on the rock-shaft at the other side of the draw-head, a link mounted on the rock-shaft, a push-bar adapted to project from the draw-head and arranged to engage the link, whereby it is thrown down ward, operating mechanism connected with the operating-arm, and a cushion arranged to be engaged by the arm 1S, substantially as described.

5. In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head, a link pivotally mounted on the draw-head and adapted to engage a corresponding draw-head, an arm connected with the link, and a weighted lever loosely pivoted on the draw-head and capable of operation independently of the said link and arranged to cushion the fall of a link of a corresponding draw-head, substantially as described.

6. In a car-coupling, the combination of a link, an arm connected with the link, and a draw-head provided with a weighted bellcrank lever loosely pivoted at its angle on the draw-head and provided at one side with a laterally-disposed portion, adapted to cushion the fall of the link of a corresponding drawhead, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES CADIVELL.

IVitnesses:

J. D. SLATER, W. H. DULL.

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